A Matter Of Time
by JESUSFREAK-And-Proud-Of-It
Summary: Sokka smiled, slinging an arm over his sister's shoulder. "In my sleep? Come on, where's the fun in that? I'd much rather go out with flaming colors, protecting my family. Who wouldn't?" Updated. Plz R&R!


**A/N:** One of my friends who read this fic…the first thing she said was, "YOU _KILLED _SOKKA??!" And yes, I'm forewarning you. This one-shot was originally written after a friend of my parents was killed in a car accident, I knew her pretty well, and I was and still am devastated. I wanted to put my thoughts to words, but I'm not good with a journal, so I wrote this. Please no flames for this one, even if you think it sucks. It would really crush me because this is so personal. This is set in the future, after the war with the Fire Nation has ended. Updated version: adapted to fit series finale.

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Katara crumpled the message scroll fiercely, flaying it into two pieces and chucking it across the room in a rare bout of intense anguish.

_He can't be dead! He isn't! He's at his camp, with the other warriors, celebrating their victory over the Fire Nation rebels...drinking the cactus juice they harvested in the desert..._

"No, Sokka..." despite her efforts to prevent it, a strangledsob escaped from her lips. He couldn't...no, it was unthinkable...he had always cheated death... Yet the words were there, signed with her father's own handwriting. How could it be possible?

_He was killed in the line of duty, _the letter had read. _I couldn't have been more proud of him..._ What does it matter _how_ he died? The fact was that he was gone and she would _never_ see him again!

The waterbender threw herself on the bed, buried her face in her pillow, and wept. She trembled, crying harder than when Aang had been grievously injured by Azula's lighting strike. Sokka had been there to comfort her then...

But the war was over, it had been over for two years! There wasn't _supposed_ to be any more dying, any more killing! The world was supposed to have lived happily ever after!

But that's not how it worked. After Aang defeated the Fire Lord (not without severe casualties to himself and the surrounding landscape), the world had been thrown into turmoil. Rebels in the earth kingdom destroyed the Fire Nation strongholds, and Zuko rose to power. His ascendancy was strongly opposed by those still loyal to the jailed Ozai, and all those willing to serve the new Fire Lord were forced to prove that loyalty in battle many times over. Those in the nation that _did _support Zuko resented the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe militias helping to keep the peace in their homeland. They believed the Fire Nation could handle standing on its own two feet without foreign assistance or influence, and the result of this conviction was widespread rioting and the need for even more military assistance to quell the resistance.

Zuko signed and sealed documents and treaties that freed all conquered territories to their original rule, and Sozin's Comet departed with little consequence.

Almost ironically, Zuko and Sokka had become fast friends. Though the first days after the firebender joined their group had been misted thickly in the skirmishes that resulted in harbored grudges and personality clashes, there was no shadow of that time in the days following the end of the war. For Sokka, who at one point during their journey wouldn't have hesitated in knocking Zuko out, had found Zuko's transition from enemy to ally a strangely easy one to grasp.

After a long and strenuous series of peace meetings and councils, the two teens often enjoyed exchanging light-hearted banter. Made all the lighter, of course, with Sokka's characteristic witty remarks.

Katara couldn't help smiling through her tears as she remembered lounging with Aang and Toph in the Fire Lord's throne room while Sokka and Zuko quarreled, going at it like two old women about the most ridiculous topics.

One time, when their argument was finally interrupted by the ever-diplomatic Iroh, offering tea in the royal courtyard, Sokka jumped at the chance. Zuko joined him eagerly enough, but before long they were at it yet again, bickering about whether tea was boiled leaf juice or not.

Katara shook her head, finally coming to terms with the fact that those moments with her beloved brother would never come again.

That thought triggered a chain reaction that started her sobbing yet again.

There was a knock at the door.

Katara ignored it, immersed in grief.

A slightly louder knock.

The waterbender still refused to acknowledge it.

_BAM BAM BAM!!! _

Angrily, Katara clenched her fists and shouted at the door. "_What_ do you WANT!?"

"I THINK YOU KNOW, SUGAR QUEEN!!"

"Toph?"

"WHO DO YOU THINK?"

Katara pushed herself off the bed and moved to unlatch the heavy wooden door that was the entrance to her bedchamber.

With a squeal of protest it swung open, revealing the fourteen year old earthbending master.

Toph had barely changed in the two years since the war ended. Her sarcastic demeanor and confident 'I-can-kick-your-butt-at-any-given-moment,' attitude had only deepened over time. She wore basically the same clothing, fitted to compensate for her growth, but her hairstyle, surprisingly, had changed dramatically. Her long ebony hair now hung in two neat, waist-length braids. On important occasions, she would twist these up into two round, braided buns on the sides of her head, but for the most part, she allowed them to hang free, saying she didn't quite mind the change in 'scenery' after so many years of piling it atop her head. Long bangs still hung in her face, though at the moment they were pushed back behind her ears, exposing her jade-colored eyes.

Katara stared at Toph, ice-blue eyes red from crying. Her short, shallow breathing was enough to tell the earthbender she was upset about something.

The earthbender frowned, perplexed but not eager to show her uncertainty. "Something's wrong. What is it?"

Katara blinked. Why did Toph always have to be so..._straightforward_? "Come in. I…the news isn't good."

"I figured."

"...even for you."

"Wow, must be pretty bad." Toph's indifferent tone angered the waterbender.

Bursting, Katara blurted out in fury, "Of course you don't care! _I_ wouldn't care either if _your _brother were dead!" Here she broke out sobbing dramatically, unable to contain her raging depression.

Toph blinked, expression utterly disbelieving. For perhaps one of the only times in the extent of her life, she was rendered speechless. _Snoozles, dead? No way. This is some sort of sick joke. _Toph focused on Katara's heartbeat as the waterbender cried, and a nauseous feeling bubbled in the pit of her stomach.

_She's not lying. How could she not be lying? Someone's playing a dirty prank on us. Someone _has_ to be..._

Katara was stillcrying, and Toph stood awkwardly off to one side, each of them wallowing in her own pain, unable to comfort the other. Motherliness wasn't Toph's calling, and denial welled up within her.

"_What..?_" She questioned softly. "There's no way…he sent a letter last week! _Last week! _Aang read it to us. He's not dead! That's _stupid!_"

Whirling around, the earthbender slammed her fist into the wall, and it crumbled beneath the force.

Before Toph could gain control of them, pain flooded through her whole being. She felt helpless. She felt guilty.

_I wasn't there for him. He's gone and I wasn't there. I can't do anything now that I know...oh Spirits I'm so_ worthless!!

She was sobbing before she could stop herself. Tears were flowing unbidden out of her sightless eyes, and they kept coming. Heedlessly they trailed down her cheeks and dripped off her chin, soaking her clothing and making her cry all the harder. Sniffling quietly, Toph pressed her hands against the wall, desperately tried to keep the display from her friend's sight. She hid behind her long black bangs and cried.

Before the earthbender realized it, Katara's arm was around her shoulders, and the two friends collapsed to the floor and grieved together, for a brother, for a warrior, and for a friend.

The earthbender wasn't sure how long they had been sitting there, silently trembling in misery, when suddenly there was another knock at the door. This knock was so different than Toph's had been; it was lighter, more cautious, as if the person was unsure whether they should interrupt. A muffled voice echoed from outside.

"Katara…?"

The waterbender recognized his voice and immediately stood, pulling Toph up beside her. She called out in a voice weak from grief. "Aang, we're here…come in!"

The avatar pushed the door open, a frown already sprouting on his face as he entered. The boy was a few months shy of fifteen, and very much different than two years before. His muscled shoulders were still covered by the traditional air nomad garb, which Katara, with the help of several expert water tribe weavers, had reconstructed for him to fit in.

Along with the scar on his back generously bestowed upon him by the late princess Azula, he now had a matching one on his left hand, from when he had redirected lightning during his duel with Ozai. He had permanently lost the feeling in his little finger on that hand as a result.

But nevertheless Aang was essentially...still Aang. And that fact made all the difference to everyone he knew, that had been by his side during the war.

"What happened?" he asked quietly when he saw the girls' faces. Uneasiness rose up in his throat when he saw that Toph had been crying, and noted the damage in the wall beside her. His eyes traced the gleaming tear-stains that streaked down the earthbender's face, and he shifted his weight back and forth, unsettled. He waited anxiously for an answer, fearing the worst.

"Aang..." Katara started, but was unable to finish, and broke down completely. She staggered backward and sat down hard on the bed, burying her head in her arms and pouring her heart into her hands.

Toph stood steady, however, facing the Avatar squarely. She opened her mouth, though hesitantly, and motioned toward a crumpled and torn scroll on the other side of the room. "Read that, if it's...still legible. Sweetness…ripped it apart. It'd suck to be that letter." It was a pitiful attempt at lightening the mood, and she knew it. Turning to Katara, Toph gripped the waterbender's shoulder, struggling with a way to reassure her depressed friend.

Aang made his way to the scroll, picking it up cautiously, as if it was a venomous snake. The avatar recognized Hakoda's handwriting, a little blotchy and uneven. It was the work of a warrior's hand, who wielded a weapon with more ease and perfection than he ever could a quill pen. Aang skimmed over the sections of calligraphy that he could still decipher.

_Dear Daughter,_

_I hate being the bearer of bad tidings, but I don't dare wait until our unit returns home... _

_…During a routine scouting mission on the Fire Nation borders, we encountered a fleet of rebel ships. We would have turned back, their ships outnumbered us three to one, but we were the only defense in between them and the capital... _

_…Sokka pushed me to attack, and I trusted his judgment…_

_…so I gave the order and we fired on the lead ship, which held the Fire Nation Admiral we all thought was long dead. Zhao. ..._

_…To make a long story short, we took three of their metal ships before they were able to regroup and retaliate... _

_…Sokka, leading a boarding party of fifty, stormed the lead ship, engaging the admiral himself. He gave the fire scum the fight of his life, and killed him with true Southern Water Tribe zeal..._

_…Zhao grievously injured him; he had severe burns over most of his body. The healers worked for nearly two days, but his wounds were too extensive..._

_…By the time you receive this message, we will have already buried him._

_Dearest Katara, please do not grieve too much over him; I know he would have wanted you to keep that pretty smile of yours bright. Know he died protecting the peace we have worked so hard for. He said himself he couldn't imagine dying in any way other than as a warrior protecting his family. _

_Farewell my daughter, and may Yue and La watch over you always,_

_Hakoda_

A stray drop created a round wet circle on the parchment. Aang's stormy gray eyes were raining, and as he looked up, he found both of his companions staring back at him, tearful eyes meeting tearful eyes.

"I..." the airbender was at a loss for words. There were no words to say. Dropping the letter, he swallowed around the fast-growing lump in his throat and came toward them with open arms.

All three embraced in a bear hug that lasted longer than any they had ever endured.

Toph would have acted mildly irritated, as was her custom, if the occasion hadn't been such a serious one. She remembered when Sokka had finally joined in with their occasional group hugs; recently he had been quite enthusiastic about them, often passing them out with no real reason, even if he was the only one giving it. The earthbender almost laughed when she recalled the last one all four of them shared--the day of his departure with his father. The ships were stocked and ready for the long trip from the Earth Kingdom port to the Fire Nation capital, but the warrior wasn't as prepared.

_"So..." he said, "I guess this is goodbye."_

_"Don't talk like that, Sokka!" Katara reprimanded lightly, lying a hand on his arm. "We'll see you again in a couple of months!"_

_"Yeah, Snoozles," Toph punched his shoulder, grinning. "Then we can get into tons more trouble together."_

_Rubbing the sore spot where she had hit him, he sighed, "Still, I'll miss you guys."_

_"We'll miss you too," Aang contributed._

_Almost instinctively, they moved forward into a hug. When the airbender and waterbender broke out of it, Sokka still held Toph in a tight embrace._

_After several seconds, Toph felt heat rising to her cheeks. "Uh, Snoozles, you're crushing my lungs."_

_"Oh," Sokka jumped back. "Oops." He glanced apologetically at the earthbender as she rubbed her collarbone._

_"Whoo...I thought my head was going to come off just then..." _

_Sokka looked away guiltily._

_Toph opened her arms, feigning annoyance, and rolled her sightless eyes. "Fine, come on, try again, and this time no squishing."_

_Sokka grinned and hugged her briefly._

_Hakoda appeared, carrying a large bag over his shoulder and handed a similar one to Sokka. "Come on, Son, we've got to catch the tide or we'll be stuck here until tomorrow."_

_"In that case…" Katara remarked jokingly._

_Sokka took the bag and turned once more to his sister and friends. "I'll see ya' later, guys!" With that, he followed his father and boarded the ship._

As they sailed away that day, none of them were aware that it was the last time they would ever see him.

The earthbender recalled that goodbye, and she felt a small sense of closure. None of them knew at the time consciously, but somewhere in the depths of her heart, she was sure of it.

Being with her two best friends calmed Katara a little. She would be able to cope...with their help, she would come to terms with her brother's death. It was only a matter of time.

Aang's emotions were flying. Sokka had been one of his best and most trusted friends from the very beginning. He felt like part of his heart had been ripped out of his chest. Sokka, the sarcasm and meat guy, the idea guy, the one in the group that was the fuel, the drive, the cheerleader, and, of course, their main source of comic relief, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, during their travels. Not having Sokka there was like loosing an arm or a leg. You don't realize how much you take them for granted until they're gone. Without the warrior's constant nagging to keep strictly to the strict schedule he had strictly written out...strictly...it was like life had fallen into disorganization, null and void. When his voice came out, it was strained and quiet, nearly stifled by the gravity encompassing the little group.

"I'll miss you, buddy."

Unable to hold it in, Toph released a strangled sob. "G'bye, Snoozles. Hope you find some friends in the Spirit World that are as…as great as you are."

Katara inhaled shakily, her sight blurry and unfocused, her heart aching. "Take care, brother, I hope you find peace. Tell Mom I love her, and..." she struggled to keep a steady voice, biting her lip, "...try to keep out of trouble, okay?"

The trio clung to each other for a long moment, paying their last respects to their warrior and friend.

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**A/N:** Please review? Please? Well, it was worth a try.


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